


You and Me and Quarantine

by JHsgf82



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Everlark in quarantine, F/M, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Masks, Mutual Pining, Pandemic - Freeform, Roommates, architect!Peeta, restauranteur!Peeta, social distancing, unemployed!Katniss, waitress!Katniss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:16:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28911453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JHsgf82/pseuds/JHsgf82
Summary: Recently unemployed due to the pandemic, Katniss seeks out comfort in her best friend, Peeta, who unexpectedly invites her to move in with him.  Written for Tumblr prompt:  Everlark in Quarantine.
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Comments: 12
Kudos: 43





	You and Me and Quarantine

**Author's Note:**

> Cover edit by: mrspeetamellark

Katniss didn’t know what she was going to do. Due to the pandemic, the restaurant she worked for as a server was shutting down, indefinitely. They’d been doing curbside for a few weeks, but it just wasn’t working out, and so, for the first time since she was 16, Katniss found herself unemployed. Shitty Covid-19!

She would hopefully be receiving some unemployment benefits, and possibly, a meager stimulus, but she needed to make rent, and she’d handed over the last of her savings to her little sister, Prim, for her medical school expenses. The biggest problem right now was where she was going to live. Given the situation, her landlord was trying to cut the residents some slack, but he was in dire straits, too. She couldn’t move back home...it would be too humiliating at the age of 27. She’d been looking for another job, but it was slim pickings. And so, she did the only thing she knew to do‒she called her best friend to rant about her predicament.

Katniss’s best friend, Peeta Mellark, was the opposite of her in just about every way imaginable. He was fair, blond, and blue-eyed; she was olive-skinned, brunette and gray-eyed. He was pleasant and sociable; she was quiet and withdrawn. He was a wealthy architect/restauranteur with a huge house; she was an unemployed waitress with no place to go. But regardless of their differences, Katniss and Peeta worked. One would think the call she was about to make to him was for the purpose of asking for money‒and Peeta would gladly give it, she knew‒but one wouldn’t know her very well if they thought she’d ask. She just needed the support of the one person she knew would understand completely and never judge her.

“Hey, Katniss,” Peeta answered the phone a little too bubbly given the current cloud over her life, and everyone else’s, including his. Peeta’s businesses were hurting, too, of course. He was designing from home now, but he had fewer projects than ever before, and his restaurant was still open, but also, only for curbside, like the one she worked for had been. Peeta had tried to get her to work for him before, but she’d thought it would be a conflict of interest, even when he’d joked that he’d work her to the bone if she liked and give her no special treatment, whatsoever. She was kind of considering asking him to work there again, but it didn’t seem right.

“Hey, Peeta,” she murmured sullenly.

“What’s wrong?”

Damn him for reading her so well. She’d wanted time to plan out what to say in her lament.

“Oh, you know, just the state of the world...everything…”

“I hear that. This whole thing sucks. Um…,” he paused, “so, I heard about Sae’s.”

 _Crap_. He already knew.

And he was getting straight to the point...

“I’m not calling to ask for money!” she blurted out.

“I’m sure you’re not,” replied Peeta softly.

There was a long pause.

“I...I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Are you okay?” asked he.

“Not really,” she muttered honestly. He didn’t question her, simply waited for her to come out with it. “I think I’m gonna have to move to a less expensive place, at least until I find another job.”

“Gotta be honest, Katniss, I can’t imagine where that would be.”

She hated to admit it, but he was right; her apartment building was one of the cheapest in town.

She sighed.

“Katniss, I…I don’t know what you’re going to think of this, but I have a solution for you.”

“What?” Was he going to offer her a job? Should she take it if he did?

“You could...come live with me.”

“What?” She hadn’t seen that one coming.

“Yeah, I mean...I have plenty of room here, and well, you’re my best friend, so I’m sure we’ll manage to get along.” Peeta chuckled, and Katniss smiled.

“You know, they say that sometimes even friends can’t live together,” she said.

“I think it’ll be fine. And it’s only temporary, anyway.”

“I don’t know…”

“Say yes, Katniss.”

Damn that persuasive mouth of his.

“Uh…”

“You can do it,” he coaxed as if she couldn’t even form the word. She could practically see the grin he was undoubtedly wearing.

“Peeta, I really don’t know about this.”

“What are you worried about? That we’ll accidentally see each other naked?”

At his last word, they both grew gravely silent as if he’d said something utterly taboo. But if that was the worst thing they had to worry about…

“N-no, I’m not worried,” she choked out, her cheeks warm and bright red from his remark, and the image she was trying to keep out of her head.

“Then you’ll do it?”

“I...I guess I could…just for a little bit.”

Peeta cheered into the phone as if he’d won the lottery rather than taken in a refugee. “This is gonna be great, Katniss. Just you and me and quarantine. We’ll have so much fun.”

In spite of how small she felt right now, Katniss couldn’t help but smile. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. She got along perfectly with Peeta, and his place was freaking gorgeous. But then again, so was he. She’d always thought so, especially in recent years, and more so than walking in on him naked, she was concerned about having to deal with him having dates over. Not like Peeta dated much, but still… She hated that she got jealous sometimes...

Although, maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about it. With social distancing, he shouldn’t be going out or having people over, anyway. This could work...right?


End file.
